Guwahati, Oct 29 (IANS) England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt admitted her side fell short in all departments as South Africa outplayed them by 125 runs in the semifinal of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday. A masterful 169 from Laura Wolvaardt meant England conceded 319/7 before being bowled out for 194 in 42.3 overs.

“What an incredible two innings from South Africa. We weren’t at our best today, and to beat the best teams, you have to (be). You have to put a whole game together, and we didn’t do that today. I’m hugely disappointed. It’ll take a bit of time to sink in, but I’m just disappointed at the moment,” said Nat after the match ended.

Despite the heavy defeat margin, Nat felt England were in the contest for large parts of the first innings. “Definitely. During the Power-play and afterwards, we didn’t let the game go too far. We were pretty happy with the control we had, and we knew a wicket at one end, and we could make some inroads, which we did. But obviously, they got another partnership together.”

She acknowledged the impact of Laura’s record-breaking 169 and her late-innings acceleration that took the game away from England. “She had the best of the conditions, knew what she was doing, and took full advantage. Then, with some explosive batters coming in, it made it very difficult for us.”

“You have to put a whole innings together at least. We stuck at it as a side, didn’t let the occasion get to us in the field, and I was pleased with everyone’s energy throughout those 50 overs.”

England’s chase was derailed early by Marizanne Kapp’s fiery opening spell, and she eventually took 5-20. Nat, who top-scored with 64, conceded that the early collapse left them with too much to do. “Obviously, Kappy bowled some brilliant deliveries. We wanted to emulate the start they had with the bat, but it wasn’t as easy as just going out and trying to bat the way Wolvaardt did.”

“It’s not ideal losing three very quick wickets, which made the chase difficult from the start. But the way Capsey and I put together a partnership, we were up with where the South Africans were in their innings, but we obviously needed to do it for a lot longer.”

Reflecting on England’s broader journey, especially with them set to host the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, Nat remained optimistic for future challenges. “We’ve come a long way since the summer. We’re a different side from then, and we’ve learnt a lot.”

“This will hurt, but hopefully in time we’ll be able to take the learnings from it and move forward because we’ve made some great strides so far in quite a short space of time. It’s really exciting where we can go. To beat the best teams, you really have to be at your best, and hopefully we’ll come back stronger the next time.”

–IANS

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